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Lafayette C. Loomis, 

No. 23 Union Square, Room 5, 



t 

75 



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LINES 

Addressed by Wordswokth to His Sistek. 



For I have learned 
To look on nature, not as in the hour 
Of thoughtless youth. 

And I have felt 
A presence that disturbs me with the joy 
Of elevated thoughts 

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, 
And the round ocean, and the liviug air, 
And the blue sky. 

Therefore am I still 
A lover of the meadows, and the woods, 
And mountains, and of all that we behold 
From this green earth. 

Therefore let the moon 
Shine on thee-in thy solitary walk ; 
And let the misty mountain winds be free 
To blow against thee ; and in after years, 
When these wild ecstacies shall be matured 
Into a sober pleasure, thy mind 
Shall be a mansion for all lovely forms, 
Thy memory be as a dwelling-place 
For all sweet sounds and harmonies. 







Ijjfljp^us fjnr 1882* 



EIGHTH YEAR. 

• 4, 

FOR SWITZERLAND, ITALY, AND GERMANY, leaving NEW 
YORK June 22, and arriving home September 6. 



The attention of ladies and gentlemen desirous of mak- 
ing a quiet, home-like torn- of Europe, under American 
direction and with American arrangements, is invited to 
the Select Summer Parties visiting Europe each season under 
my management and care. 

It is my wish to present the most complete and desirable 
arrangements for Americans making the tour, which the 
experience of twelve parties upon my own responsibility, 
and under my sole direction, has suggested. The Party is 
accompanied by myself throughout the entire trip from 
New York round to the homeward embarkation, and is, at 
no time, placed under other supervision or control. Hav- 
ing my own direct contracts and agreements, and having no 
connection with any agency, firm, or other intermediary, 
we are at entire liberty, it any particular house, route or 
plan, fails to meet our wishes, to select whatever other we 
may prefer. 



The Party is intended to be entirely select, and is usually 
composed to a large extent of persons of literary and scho- 
lastic tastes and associations. It is strictly limited to such 
a number as I feel assured I can satisfactorily care for — a 
limit, which for the two past years, the number of applicants 
has quite exceeded. 

We shall leave New York on or near the 22d of June, 
and arrive at New York on the return on or near Septem- 
ber 61 h. 

THE ROUTE FOR THE COMING SEASON 

Will embrace Glasgow, Loch Lomond, Loch Katrine, 
the Trossachs, Edinburgh, Melrose, Abbotsford, 
Dryburgh, Ijondon, 'Windsor Castle, Paris, Ver- 
sailles, Berne, Intcrlaken, Gicssbach Falls, the 
Brunig Pass, Lucerne, the Ascent of the Rigi, the 
Lake of Lucerne, the Central Alps via the St. Go- 
thard, Lake IVIaggiorc, Milan, Florence, Pisa, 
Rome, Naples, Vesuvins, Pompeii, Venice, the 
Brenner Pass, Munich, Prague, Dresden, Frank- 
fort, the Rhine, Coblentz, Cologne, Antwerp, Lon- 
don, to Glasgow, sailing homeward August 25, and arriving 
in New York September 6. 

ROUND TRIP TICKET, covering all legitimate 
expenses flora New York round to New York, $550. 

Should any be particularly desirous of visiting Berlin, a 
day may be abridged from Munich, Prague, and Dresden 
without serious loss, and a three days' trip made up for 
Berlin at a cost of twelve dollars. 



o- 



GENERAL OUTLINE. 



[fGlasgow will detain us only to complete the necessary 
arrangemente of preparation for our land tour and return 
voyage. 

The next clay we shall make the tour of Loch Lomond, 
Loch Katrine, the Trossachs, Callander; and thence, 
passing Stirling and Bannoc kbukn, to Edinburgh. 

At Edinburgh we find time to visit IIolyrood, the 
home of the unfortunate Mary, the Castle so interwoven 
with Scottish history, Calton Hill, and to take a drive 
passing numberless localities made memorable by John 
Knox and Sir Walter Scott. 

An hour's ride will bring us to Melrose and Dryburgh, 
possessing the finest ruins in Scotland. 

A pleasant carriage ride of an hour along the valley of the 
Tweed, and we reach Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter 
Scott, 

The day following we shall proceed to London via the 
old historic towns of Newcastle, York, and Durham. 

In London we shall be enabled to visit Westminster 
Abbey, Parliament Houses, St. Paul's, the Tower, the 
British Museum, the National Gallery, and various lo- 
calities of interest. 

In Paris, the great Galleries of the Louvre and Ver- 
sailles, the Tomb of Napoleon, Notre Dame, Arc de 
Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysees, and 
other historic localities, and reserve a day for shopping. 

From Paris we make passage direct to Switzerland, rest- 
ing at Berne. Thence, via Lake Thun, to Interlaken, 
and Lake Brienz to Giessbach, we witness the Illumina- 
tion of the Falls at night, a spectacle of the rarest beauty. 

Taking open coaches we make the delightful drive over 
the Brunig Pass, 3,895 ft. — quite likely passing a region of 
cloud— to Lucerne. 



o- 



o 



Here in the midst of the richest scenery of Switzerland, 
and ou the margin of its grandest lake, and in one of its 
finest hotels, we lake a day or two for rest. 

Making the ascent of the Rigi, 5,905 ft., by mountain 
railway, a view of unsurpassed extent and beauty is pre- 
sented. Returning, we take steamer for Fluelen, passing 
the haunts of Tell, amid mountain and lake scenery, which, 
for thrilling patriotic associations, and wild, untamed 
grandeur, is unequalled in Switzerland. At Fluelen we 
take railway for the passage of the Central Alps via the 
the Great St. Gothard Road and tunnel, resting for the 
night at Locarno, one of the most charming localities on 
Lake Maggiore. Thence via Lake Maggioke, passing the 
Bokromean Isles, we reach Milan. Here we visit the 
Cathedral, one of the most ornate temples of worship ever 
erected. 

An afternoon along the plains of Lombardy and through 
the Appenines with their 45 tunnels, and we are in Flor- 
ence— the home of Modern Art. Here two of the iiuest 
Art collections in the world, the Uffizi and the Pitti 
Galleries, will reward every moment we can devote to 
them. We visit also Santa Croce, the resting place of 
Angelo and Galileo; the Medicean Chapel, and the 
Royal Palace of Khi!>- Humbert. 

Five clays in Rome! How much one may see, and yet 
how much remains unseen of this ancient, mediaeval, and 
modern city ! 

We shall visit the Vatican Galleries of Painting and 
Sculpture, the Capitoline Museum, the Rospigliosi and 
the Bakberini Palaces, the Pantheon, Coliseum, the 
Forum, the Arches of Sept. Severus, Titus and Con- 
stantine, the Forum of Trajan, the Pincian Hill, and 
perhaps other places of interest, of which there is no end. 

Here, perhaps, to the scholar, does the far-reaching his- 
tory of Rome first become a living fact, more real, more 
substantial, and more truthful, in one week's wanderings 
in the Eternal City, than iu months and years of reading 
and studv. 



From Rome to Naples the route lies mainly amid barren 
and desolate mountains, with scarce a tree or a shrub, 
save now and then an olive orchard. But Naples, with 
its unequalled Museum, Vesuvius, and Pompkii, make 
three days scarcely surpassed in interest throughout the 
tour. 

Homeward bound, we skirt the Mediterranean from 
Rome to Pisa, where we stop to visit the Leaning Tower, 
the Cathedral, the Baptistery, and the Campo Santo. 

A day across the Apennines, along the plains of the 
Auuiatic, and we are in Venice. Here the Palace of 
the Doges, with its secret council chambers, and St. 
Mark's, the oldest cathedral we shall visit and the most 
Byzantine in style, are places of unending interest; whilst 
our evening Gondola Ride upon the Grand Canal will 
recall the glory and romance of the golden days of the 
republic. 

Thence by the Brenner, the only railway over the Alps, 
we reach Munich, which iu its ait treasures has few supe- 
riors in Europe, and for which our stay will be all too 
brief. At Prague, Oriental mediaeval life will press its 
record upon us as at no other point of the summer's tour. 

An additional day's ride brings us to Dresden, the capi- 
tal of Saxony, and the richest ait centre north of the Alps. 

[A ride of a few hours and we reach Berlin, the larg- 
est city of Central Europe and capital of the empire. 
Here we shall have time to visit the Schloss, the collec- 
tions of Antique and Modern Paintings, the Museum 
of Sculpture, the Palaces of Potsdam and San Souci, 
and perhaps the Mausoleum at Charlottenberg.] 

Homeward hound, a day will bring us to Frankfort, 
when we shall have lime for a glance at its historic localities. 

Taking an early boat, the Rhine, with its poetic and 
legendary tales, and its numberless castellated ruins, will 
imprint a Red Letter Day in memory. 

Cologne will detain us only to visit its magnificent 
Cathedral. 

Thence we depart for the quaint old city of Antwerp, 



Q 



and spend a day amidst its oddities, and in visiting the 
celebrated Cathedual, "one of the finest Gothic struc- 
tures in Europe." Here is", also Rubens' masterpiece, the 
Descent from the Cross. 

Proceeding thence to London and Glasgow, we take 
steamer for New York direct. 

THE CIRCULAR TICKET. 

Includes as follows : 

1. Fares. —Ocean-Steamer, Railway, Steamboat, Dili- 
gence, Carriage and Omnibus fares, necessary for the entire 
trip from New York round to New York again. First- 
class or parlor car, $30 extra. 

2. Hotels. — Breakfast, Dinner, Supper, Room, Light 
and Attendance. 

3. Luggage. — Transportation and care of one trunk 
or valise of sixty pounds weight. 

4. Carriages for the drives, and to all the localities, 
galltjfies, and buildings, designated in the Itinerary, 

whenever necessary. 

5. Fees. — This includes all the requisite admission fees 
to all places visited, and all the customary payments ou 
behalf of the party to guides, porters, waiters, stewards, 
chambermaids, &c. at hotels, stations, churches and gal- 
leries. This, however, does not include extra services ren- 
dered individually, nor in case of illness, nor fees on the 
ocean steamers. 

6. A Weekly Home Cablegram, giving the location 
of the party, and the health of each member, to be for- 
warded from New York by mail. 

THIS TICKET DOES NOT INCEEDE: 

1. Any extra expense arising from illness, or from acci- 
dent., detention, broken communication, or other liabilities 
of travel. 



2. Omnibus, carriage, or admission to any place or 
building not designated in the Itinerary, nor at any other 
time tlinn with the party. 

3. Wine or other extras at hotels, nor individual ex- 
penses at any time. 

PAYMENTS are to be made as follows : 

1. Ten Dollars with the application , upon the re- 
ceipt of which the name will be entered upon the Berth 
List, and berth assigned according to the date of entry. 

2. Forty Dollars, May 1st, to secure passage on 
steamer. 

3. The Balance, June 1st. 

Remittances may be made by draft on New York, 
(not check), payable to my order. 

Itebateinents. — Should it be found impracticable 
to make the Tour after having made the remittances, the 
money received will be refunded, less $10 up to June 1, af- 
ter which date, less $25. 

In event of sickness or accident at any point of the Tour 
rendering further travel impossible, the Contract Ticket 
may be surrendered; and a rebate of $4 per day will be 
allowed from the date of surrender to the homeward sail- 
ing date. 

Jgp" No Deductions or Allowances are made foi 
any temporary absence, nor for any unused portions of 
the Tour, except as above stated. 

The Ocean Return Tickets will be made good for 
one year upon request at time of purchase. 



GENERAL PRINCIPLES, 



The principle upon which our parties are conducted is 
Safety and Health first ; Sight Seeing second. To this 
end, although the Itinekabt is definitely laid out for each 
day and for everj locality to he visited, aud will be followed 
as far as weather and the contingencies of travel per- 
mit, I reserve to myself the entire right to modify or 
decline any part of the Tour, as in my judgment the safety 
or health of the persons under my direction may demand, 
or as delay, accident or other cause may necessitate. In 
such event, the best practicable route under the existing 
circumstances will be substituted. 

The Itinerary is arranged to avoid travel by night, thus 
securing always a full night's rest, and affording a view of 
the entire country passed. 

In the selection of steamers for the Atlantic, I am guided 
solely by considerations of safety aud comfort. 

The completeness of our arrangements and care, in gen- 
eral and detail, is perhaps sufficiently attested in the fact 
that having taken nine parties to Italy, three to Germany 
and Austria, and two to Sweden and Russia, we have never 
— either from accident, mishap, detention or illness — found 
occasion to depart from our Itinerary. 

The party is designed for ladies and gentlemen of fami- 
lies ; but in the selection of route, choice of localities to 
be visited, daily itinerary, and amount of time given for 
shopping, regard has been paid especially to strength, 
wishes aud tastes of ladies. 

Young ladies not under the "supervision of parents, im- 
mediate relatives or teachers, must be fully placed under 
my own personal guardianship. 



c-:- 



OF TRAVELING IN PARTIES. 

A company ot a suitable number of persons of similar 
culture and tastes, properly harmonized, arranged, and 
conducted, presents, beyond question, the most agreeable 
method of travel in a foreign country. In addition to ex- 
emption from all care, and to beini? aole to devote oue's 
entire time to siLCht-seein^, rooms, galleries, and apart- 
ments which may chance to be closed, will often be opened 
as they would not be for an individual. Hotel and railway 
officials are more attentive, tradespeople more anxious to 
please, whilst the constant intercourse with so many asso- 
ciates Ljives a double interest to every locality or object 
visited. 

I am well aware of the disfavor with which 'Tourist 
Parties' are regarded by many who have, unhappily, visited 
Europe in promiscuous and ill-assorted companies and 
under crude arrangements. In justice, however, to all, it 
should be remembered that such persons can properly 
represent only the party to which they were attached, and 
the management under which they traveled. 

ITALY IN SUMMER. 

Each year I receive many letters of inquiry as to the 
safety of visiting Italy, and especially Rome, in summer. 

The answer is brief. The causes that gave Italy and 
Rome their ill repute ceased ten years since, and the 
Italian cities are to-day quite as cleanly and well kept as 
the American, — indeed, far better. 

As for Rome, two cities alone, Turin and Leghorn, of all 
Italy, show a better sanitary record, Milan, Venice, and 
Florence standing below Rome. 

"Roman Fever is nothing more than what is known in 
the United States as chills and fever," and prevails in the 
marshy districts in September and October. It is taken, 
cured, or avoided in Italy as in America. 





The Roman Fever, which Americans now have in Rome 
is simply a fever of fatigue, exhaustion, and carelessuess, 
to which they would be equally liable at home or elsewhere, 
if equally imprudent. 

But whatever the theories or prejudices may be, the 
simple fact is, that the health of all the parties I have 
taken to Italy, uniformly and without exception, has been 
firmer in Italy than iu Switzerland, England, or Scotland. 

As for the discomfort from the excessive heat in Italy, the 
following table gives the comparative temperature from 
July 23 to August 5, in Italy, New York, and Washington, 
D. C, at noon : 

1878 1881 N.Y. Wash'n. 

July 23— Venice 88 82 79 80 

24— Florence 85 79 77 81 

25— " 83 82 81 84 

26— Rome 77 84 79 87 

27— " 82 82 77 77 

28— " 78 76 82 84 

29— " 79 76 78 76 

30— " 80 77 67 79 

31— Naples 85 86 68 84 

Aug. 1— " 80 89 69 87 

2— " 78 81 79 84 

3— Rome 75 82 81 85 

4— " 79 79 83 87 

5— " 77 81 74 86 

Average Italy . .81 81 N.Y. 77 Wash. 83 

The noon temperature thus appears to lie between that 
of New York and Washington. But as Rome and Naples 
always enjoy a cool sea breeze at evening, the average for 
the 24 hours is probably lower for these cities than for 
New York. 

Sofar as my own experience goes, I would, for either 
health or comfort, quite as soon spend the summer in 
Rome as New York. 

I am informed by Americans many years resident in 
Florence and Rome that the months when Italy is to be 
avoided, if at all, are September, October, February, and 
March. 

E! ) 



In point of general health, it is rare that the trip does 
not confer positive and lasting sanitary benefits, especially 
upon those of sedentary life and intellectual pursuits. 



The Itinerary will be issued in the early spring, which, 
with the Circular of Instructions, will be furnished to 
members. 

Applications must be accompanied with references. 

For information address: 

LAFAYETTE C. LOOM IS, M. D. 



23 Union Square, Room 5, New York. 



Letters and Notices. 



Baltimore, Oct. 26, 1881. 
Prof. L. C. Loomis : 

My Dear Sir : I have been waiting your return to the 
United States, to express to you my sincere and hearty thanks 
for your continued and unvarying kindness at all times, to my 
daughter, during her trip with your party the past summer. 

If I can serve you at any time here, please command me 
freely. Believe me to he, 

Most truly yours, 

HAMILTON EASTER. 

{From the II'. Ch. Advocate, Cincinnati, O.) 

Tprin, Italy, Aug. 8, 1881. 
* * For the present, and as long as practicable, I am a 
member of the "Loomis party," and I have made this arrang- 
ment with my friend of college days, Prof. L. C. Loomis, after 
observing in a number of cities and on several railroads the 
ample and judicious arrangements he makes for the comfort 
and satisfaction of all whom he conducts. His great experi 
ence enables him to manage this business with the most per- 
fect success, and his popularity with the landlords and rail 
road officials secures for his parties all the consideration that 
could be asked for. After trying the plan of engineering our 
own way, and that of being provided for by a skilful "conduc- 
tor,"' like Prof. Loomis, we unhesitatingly advise all persons 
who wish to make the tour of Europe under the most pleasant 
conditions, and especially all those who are inexperienced in 
European travel, and are unable to speak French, German, 
and Italian, and therefore need assistance, to protect them- 
selves from a thousand annoyances from landlords and ser- 
vants, from railroad officials and attendants, and from the per- 
sons having charge of art collections, &c, and at the same time 
to make sure of obtaining every possible advantage from their 
trip, without a profuse expenditure of money, to do precisely 
what the writer has now done. 

F. S. HOYT, D. D., (Editor.) 



(From the Editor of " The Signal,''' Chicago.) 

Chicago, Jan., 1882. 
Dr. Loomis : 

It will gratify you, I feel sure, to know that I came home 
with twenty pounds good solid avoirdupois more than I went 
away with, which surprises very much some of my traveled 
friends, who say that there is no rest in travel. I fancy, how- 
ever, they know nothing of the delights of this care-free sort 
of jaunting, such as we had last summer, when we knew noth- 
ing about such tiresome details as tickets, luggage, hotel bills, 
and "tips," but embarked each morning upon sight seeing with 
the abandon and carelessness of children, and came to our 
resting places at night, unwearied by harrowing "guards," 
porters, or interpreters, to find our trunks unstrapped in our 
rooms and ourselves burdened only with the dust of the way. 

I shall never forget the delightful surprises which were a part 
of your unwritten programme, and which all the rest of the ar- 
rangement made me think, as I so often told you, of nothing 
so much as that constant, loving, and surprising care and lead- 
ing of our dear Heavenly Father, who always does so much 
better by us than we, from our faithless living, have reason to 
expect. 

It must be a pleasant thought to you, that you have been 
able to link your name and memory and personality so surely 
to what must ever be, I think, one of the rare experiences of a 
lifetime. I like the Itinerary for next year even better than 
last, as it takes in so many of the German cities and galleries' 
but I can only hope that the next summer's party may enjoy 
as much as did the company of 1881. That is enough for any 
reasonable being and for one short summer. 
Very sincerely yours, 

MARY B. WILLARD. 

Chicago, Jan. 1882. 
I wish to endorse most cordially every sentiment Mrs. Wil- 
lard has so pleasantly expressed. 

BESSIE BRADWELL. 

Baltimore, Md., Dec. 1, 1881. 
Dear Dr. Loomis : 

I was not easily convinced that it was wise to take, in so 
short a time, so extensive a tour as that laid down in the pro- 
spectus of 1881, But when you said "The tour proposed is the 



first glance at a great, grand panorama of knowledge, too vast 
for one attempt, and for which a preliminary is eminently de- 
sirable," I accepted your judgment. I most sincerely and 
entirely endorse the statement quoted above. Hurry and 
fatigue must be incident to such an undertaking, but they are 
a very small price for what is obtained, and I am sure neither 
my friends nor myself can ever cease to feel the inspiration of 
our summer experience. 

And not only so, but we are under many personal obliga- 
tions for courtesies and kindnesses which made the days 
delightful to us. 

I shall always feel like congratulating anyone to whom comes 
the same great privilege. 

Very truly. 

JANE PINDELL. 

Yonkers. N. Y., Jan.. 1882. 
It seems impossible to me that one could make a first trip to 
■Europe in any other way, so profitably to mind and body. 
Mrs. K. T. HOLBROOK, 
Prin. of Young Ladies' Seminary, Yonkers, N. Y. 

Woman's College, N. Univ. 

Evanston, III., Dec. 1, 1881. 
It was my good fortune to be a member of the party of '81, 
traveling in Europe under the gi idance of Dr. Loomis. There 
was a degree of comfort and ease about the journey that I had 
not anticipated, when forecasting the summer's tour. So 
much to be accomplished, and so short a time in which to 
accomplish a great deal, seemed to necessitate an amount of 
work that would prove too laborious to be pleasant. The 
three months' experience was an agreeable surprise, as the 
active exercise, the. out-of-door life, and the change of scene 
gave an added physical strength that nv re than met the un- 
wonted fatigue. I believe in short trips, particularly when we 
cannot indulge in long ones ; and for this reason, when one 
has in advance prepared to see what is noteworthy in Art, 
History, or Nature, then when one is on the spot, a great deal 
can be enjoyed and appreciated in a short space of time ; 
while there is the further advantage, incident to more rapid 
journeys, that comparisons can be clearly made between the 
salient features of different countries visited, as impressions 
are kept fresher in mind. Lastly, when one travels with Dr. 



Loomis, one is in the company of a leader who is entirely com- 
petent to discriminate as to the best ends which such a journey 
should compass. 

At the close of the summer my appreciation of Dr. Loomis' 
executive ability and the sagacious and careful provision of 
every want had surpassed the expectation with which I 
started. Let anyone ask himself how often a like instance has 
occurred in his experience, and the rarity of such commenda- 
tion will become evident. 

JANE M. BANCROFT (Bean). 

Charleston Seminary, 
Charleston, S. C, Feb. 15, 1881. 
Dr. L. C. Loomis : 

Dear Sir : This time last year I was planning to visit Eu- 
rope, greatly perplexed as to the best way of doing so, for a 
limited period. I cannot help thinking how easily and how 
well I could now solve this difficult problem for others. 

I look back upon my tour with a world of delight and it will 
be a life-long pleasure to recall it. The friends who accompa- 
nied me are full of enthusiasm over the summer's trip, and are 
of one accord as to the more than just and honorable manner in 
which every obligation was discharged by you. 

For my own part, I think your patience, forbearance, and 
foresight are marvellous. How much of annoyance and ex- 
pense had been spared us I scarcely knew, until I undertook, 
after your departure from Paris, to be my own guide for a 
month. I can scarcely put upon paper all my thanks for your 
and Mrs. Loomis' unwearied attentions and kindness. 
Very truly your friend, 

ETTA A. KELLY, 

Principal. 

Charleston, S. C, Feb. 15, 1881. 
Dr. L. C. Loomis : 

Dear Sir : For myself, Mrs. Johnston, and the other mem- 
bers of your party who were with us, I most heartily endorse 
every sentiment expressed by Miss Kelly as to the pleasure, 
care, and comfort we were enabled to enjoy in our summer 
journeyings. 

Having on previous occasions traveled with my family in 
Europe, I was enabled to contrast the difference of comfort 
and satisfaction resulting from being with one so well ac- 



s 

quainted with every object of interest and the most desirable 
way of reaching it. 

Under your direction we accomplished in a short time what 
had before taken me days, and convinced that a Summer trip 
to Europe may be made really a pleasure tour, free from the 
annoyances usually attendant upon travel in a foreign land. 
Wishing you every success. 

I remain yours with esteem, 

A. S. JOHNSTON. 

Rochester, N. Y., Oct. 81, 1878. 
Dr. L. C. Loomis : 

Dear Sir: * * Now that we are fairly settled to the old 
home ways our charming summer trip grows, by retrospect, 
more and more delightful. 

How quickly we realized that we were in competent hands, 
and yielded to the agreeable consciousness that we had not 
even the responsibility of our own selves to trouble about. 

Looking back over our three months' travel, the wonder 
grows continually, not only that the large party was managed 
so successfully, but that we were so exempt from the ordinary 
annoyances which beset the nomadic tribe. 

This good fortune which we regarded in a sort of negative 
light during our travels, becomes a positive blessing when we 
hear of the difficulties which so many others encountered, 

Nor can we ever forget the pleasant surprises winch awaited 
us at Heidelberg, Locarno, Lake Maggiore, and Venice, and 
much more the courtesy and kind forbearance which we so 
uniformly received at your hands. 

But beyond the mere pleasures which we experienced, lies 
the actual satisfaction of awakened interests and accumulated 
knowledge which years of study might have failed to produce. 
Art, History, and Literature are henceforth infused with anew 
light and life ; such, that study without travel seems but the 
crude stone, whilst with it. it becomes the polished diamond. 
With high regard, 

JULIA A. KEMPSHALL. 

Editor Republican : 

As we seem to have accomplished more in the way of seeing 
Europe than many do by a longer tour, I give your readers the 
benefit of our methods. We place a certain sum of money in 
the hands of Dr. Loomis, an experienced traveler, a cultivated 
gentleman, and a most excellent friend and counselor. For 



this he agrees to pay all legitimate traveling expenses. For 
personal use we place a small sum additional in his hands, for 
which he gives us a printed certificate, with coupons attached, 
payable in the coin of the country where we wish to use the 
money. He takes entire charge of our baggage, and, indeed, 
of oar persons, as a father would of his family. He uses no 
tourist coupons, but meets all his bills with cash, and as he has 
done this for five years, he is sure of a welcome everywhere. 
At stations we were met by the proprietor of the hotel or 
some one representing him. Some of the hotels were the best 
in Europe or the world. 

The warmth and cordiality with which we were received 
wherever he had been before were very gratifying. He does 
7iot treat us like a party out of which his purpose is to make 
money. He consults our tastes and pleasures : plans excur- 
sions, drives, boat rides, et cetera, and cheerfully meets the 
hills. * * 

Italy, with its art, its ruins, its political and religious condi- 
tion—in truth, its whole life — left upon me an impression 
unique and indelible. This impression owes much of its inde- 
scribable charm to his forecast and timely advices. 

I confess that the letters of Dr. Loomis' co-travelers in the 
circular of '79 seemed to me, before knowing him. slightly ex- 
aggerated. But subsequent acquaintance, such as can only 
exist between fellow-travelers, has assured me that they fall 
short of the truth as to his ability in the happy management 
of a company of European Tourists. 

I went to escape care. But when I recall the 9,000 miles of 
steamer and railway, lake and mountain, the drives, the gal- 
leries, the ruins and historical localities visited from Edinburg 
to Naples, I find, after all. it was a busy summer. But he took 
all the burdens and annoyances so completely upon himself 
that I felt upon my return as if I had been idle. His fore- 
thought of everything pertaining to every place of interest to 
be visited left me an amount of leisure to observe, think, and 
write, which to some of my friends seems incredible. 

His personal conversations on art and artists ; his sensitive 
and unfeigned enjoyment of all things venerable and beauti- 
ful ; his kind readiness to answer our million questions ; his 
unstinted provision for our comfort at any cost ; his uniform 
good nature and practical tact, by which we really came to be 
like a family, can never be forgotten. • 



For ladies without escort his parties are a sine qua non. Him- 
self a retired principal of a young ladies' seminary, he has 
special gifts for instructing and caring for young ladies. 

For clergymen and students his parties will, I am sure, prove 
for them what this has been to me— the most restful, instruct- 
ive, and quickening summer of my life. For any one they are 
delightful. 

I do not see how, with parties reduced in numbers by their 
really "select" character, he can make it pay him a fair com- 
pensation. But blessed is he or she who gets in. 

Rev. R. B. HOWARD, 

of the " Advance," Chicago. 



Mount Vernon Seminary, 
Washington, D. C, November 37, 1879. 
Dr. L. C. Loomis : 

Dear Sir : I want to tell you, if I can, how grateful I am to 
you for inducing me and mine to join your party this past sum- 
mer. 

Before starting we had some slight misgivings as to the desir- 
ability of traveling with so large a party ; but the more than 
satisfactory experience of the summer, dissipated completely 
our objections to this mode of travel — at least, so far as your 
parties are concerned, and I express the feeling of all in my 
little section when I say that our European trip was a delight 
throughout. 

To the young girls who went with me, its experiences have 
been invaluable. Not only have they gained stores of actual 
knowledge, which years of study could scarcely have given 
them, but their interest in all study has been wonderfully 
quickened. All history, all literature, all biography, all art, 
have taken on a new significance, and all these "dry bones" 
will be henceforth living verities to them. 

When I stop to take stock of the summer's gains, it is an ever 
increasing wonder to me that we were able to accomplish so 
much in so short a time. This success must be mainly due, it 
seems to me, to the exactness and thoroughness with which 
all details of the trip were arranged. There appeared to be no 
chance for mistakes or disappointments. The most excellent 
care was taken of our physical comfort and well-being every- 
where. There was never any detention, never any hurry ; all 
moved so smoothly and so comfortably that there was nothing 
for us to do but give •urselves entirely to the legitimate object 



O- 



of travel— the enjoyment of all the novel and marvelous things 
with which we were brought in contact. 

And just here, it seems to me, was, above other benefits 
accruing to us from traveling under your care— the special and 
crowning advantage— your thorough familiarity with the coun- 
tries and localities visited. Your tender appreciation of every- 
thing beautiful and ennobling in nature and in art, together 
with your broad and critical knowledge of the latter, were of 
inestimable value to us all. Knowing so thoroughly what was 
best worth our attention, you were able so to plan our sight- 
seeing that we saw the very best everywhere. 

And then it is such a relief and comfort to have your finances 
in the hands of one whose word you feel to be as good as a 
bond. 

To tired students, clergymen, writers, teachers, whose lives 
have worn down into very deep and very narrow channels, no 
better tonic could be prescribed for body and brain than one 
of your summer trips. "I speak that I do know ;" and I am 
hoping that it may be possible for some of my pupils and my- 
self to join you in your next summer excursion. 
Cordially yours, 

Mrs. J. E. SOMERS. 

Peru, O., Nov., '79 
I most heartily endorse all that Dr. Howard and Mrs. Somers 
have written, but still feel that the half has not been said. 

It is only by being under the care of Dr. Loomis on such a 
tour, that one can appreciate his eminent fitness for such a 
position— his perfect self-possession, his sterling integrity, his 
unselfishness, his fund of knowledge, his readiness to commu- 
nicate, his grace of mind and heart, and, beyond all, his worth 
as a friend and counselor. 

EFPIE DANFORTH. 

Lasell Seminary, 
aliburndale, mass., nov. 1878. 

It was luxury ; the reality of many dreams of travel, without 
its hitherto unavoidable discomforts. 

Dr. Loomis was the good genius of Aladdin's Lamp, whose 
foresight prevented difficulties, whose unfailing philosophy 
softened every hardship, (except sea-sickness), and whose pa- 
tience and good nature half persuaded us that we were not, 
what we now know we were, at least in the beginning, as 
unreasonable as we were inexperienced'. 



■m 



No one can thoroughly appreciate the great fortune of going 
through Europe under such leadership until he has worried 
through it under his own. For what does one who has never 
been tossed by a gale, know of the comfort of an unruffled sea 5 
Having traveled over much of Europe with only my wife, I 
know how to compare the two methods. • 

I confess it was with some misgivings that I concluded it was 
best to join Dr. Loomis's party of "78, with my section of 
fourteen. I did not fear the inconveniences which a novice 
cannot avoid. I feared the loss of the independent action of 
a single will. I am happy to state that I was agreeably disap- 
pointed from beginning to < nd. And I now ask the privilege of 
saying that every objection I used to have to traveling with a 
party was entirely removed by the delightful experience of 
last summer. Even in the one point in which I was at first 
disposed to criticise his plans, viz : that time was wasted, that 
we might be doing more,— I was soon obliged to confess he 
was far wiser than I ; for while my way might have suited two 
or three, it would have worn out all the rest before the trip 
was half finished. 

The annihilation of bills and baggage, places and porters, 
time-tables and tickets— the absence of care, the saving in 
mental and nervous wear and tear, the curtailment of expense, 
the greater leisure and power for the legitimate and only profit- 
able part of travel, the more perfect enjoyment of, and benefit 
from the strange and delightful things in Art, History, and 
Nature, are positive j;'aius not easily estimated by the inexpe- 
rienced : while the benefit of being associated with one of the 
culture of Dr. Loomis, is not for a moment to be compared 
with the merely commercial work done for parties by the 
usual "Conductors." 

In every respect Dr. Loomis's treatment of us was generous 
and patient to an unexpected extent. 

We were better cared for than if we had been by ourselves— 
better than was promised, That Dr. Loomis does more than 
he promises, is a fact which he does not advertise as much as 
he might, nor as much as he ought. 

CHAS. C. BRAGDON, 

Principal. 
P. S.— I know that I speak only too feebly the minds of all 
my party. 





RooKFoHi) Sio.m., Ill , Nov. '79. 
{To a Friend :) 

I am sure 1 cannot do you a greater service than to send you 
one of Dr. L's circulars. Indeed, if by any word of mine you 
should be led to accompany him through Europe, I am confi- 
dent or securing your good will ever after. * * 

Dr. LOomisis a straightforward ami precise husine-ss man, 
who can make a bargain and hold t<> it, with none of those 
"unexpected sundry expenses" with which some parties have 
been annoyed. 

A lady who travels with him has no care whatever, and. what 
is even better, she is nut conscious that care is. exercised by 
anyone, so quietly do all details incident to travel seem to 
arrange themselves. * * 

As a traveling companion he is genial and social. Of varied 
and thorough culture, his suggestions as to what and how one 
shall see arc invaluable. lie brings himself, and. to a good 
degree, those with him into harmony with the subject to be 
studied, whether of nature or art. 

I count among the gems of this summer's recollections the 
half hour conversations which he gave upon art. He has stud- 
ied art as a devout and fearless philosopher, with less of senti- 
mentality than of a full appreciation of beauty and strength 
in all human thought or work. 

CAROLINE A. POTTER. 

Washington, D. C, October -i, 1878, 
Treasury Dept. 
Dr. L. C. Loomis : 

My Dear Sir: * * It gives me pleasure to state to you 
personally that all y Our promises were honestly and generously 
fulfilled, and considering the distance traveled, the places vis- 
ited, the much accomplished, I had far greater comfort than it 
seemed possible to experience. 

I think your arrangements for personal funds are truly admi- 
rable. You were to the party a bank of exchange as well as of 
deposit. Your system saved us much time and annoyance. * 
And I regard it no small advantage, sir. permit me to add, to 
be associated with a gentleman of your attainments and ex- 
perience. Your conversations upon art, architecture, and 
other subjects, were very helpful to me. * * I would not 
sell my summer's experience for thrice what it cost me. * * 
Respectfully, 

Rev. G. B. PATCH. 



O- 



SWARTHMORE COLLEGE. DEL. CO., PA. 

1st mo. 27th, 1882. 
Dr. L. C. Loomis : 

Esteemed Friend : All through this quiet winter I think of 
our delightful summer spent in Europe under thy care and di- 
rection. It seems a most beautiful picture, without any im- 
perfection. Starting as I did with a delicate daughter on such 
a long and unknown journey, it is a miracle that thy experi- 
ence and unfailing patience could make it ah so safe and 
pleasant for us. We returned with improved health, and a 
vast fund of general information that we could not have ac- 
quired in such a short time if we had not had thy judgment 
and broad culture to guide us. Even if time and money be not 
objects to me when I next visit Europe, I should still desire to 
avail myself of thy [prottcting care and literary and artistic 
knowledge. Very truly thy friend, 

CAROLINE S. WOOD. 



"I confess that the letters of Dr. Loomis' co-travelers in the 
circular of 79 seemed to me, before knowing him, slightly ex- 
aggerated. But subsequent acquaintance, such as can only 
exist between fellow-travelers, has assured me that they fall 
short of the truth." 

"Dr. Loomis is a straightforward and precise business man, 
who can make a bargain and hold to it, without extras." 

"That Dr. Loomis does more than he promises is a fact which 
he does not advertise as much as he might, nor as much as he 
ought." 

"Dr. Loomis is remarkably adapted to this business— a natu- 
ral leader, with great executive force, and a nice sense of the 
fitness of things." 

"His familiarity with the customs of the countries, his know- 
ledge of history, his culture in art, were of inestimable value to 

us." 

"For ladies without escort his parties are a sine qua non." 

"How quickly we realized that we were in competent hands 
and yielded to the agreeable consciousness that we had not 
even the responsibility of our own selves to trouble about." 

"Dr. L. is evidently a born leader." 



"His chief charm lies in his kindly care and solicitude over 
each member of his party.' 1 '' 

"And above all, his worth as a friend and counselor." 

"The abiding sense of security which I felt under his care was 
inexpressibly reassuring to me." 

"I do not see how, with parties reduced in numbers by their 
really 'select' character, he can make it pay him a fair com- 
pensation. But tikss, il is hi or she who gets in." 

"After trying the plan of engineering our own way, and that 
of being provided for by Dr. Loomis, we unhesitatingly advise 
all persons who wish to make the tour of Europe under the 
most pleasant conditions, to do precisely what the writer has 
done." 

Note.— The Handbook will be forwarded by mail on receipt 
of price. 



HANDBOOK 

OF 

Jw m & W,W^ to IpW^ 

By L. C. LOOMIS, A. M. 

PART I. 

Art, Scenery, History, Legends, Myths. 

PART II. 

Catalogue of the Noted Works, in the 
Principal Art Galleries of Cen- 
tral Europe. 

PART III. 

Routes, Including the Principal Lines 

of Travel, with Notes upon the 

Localities of Interest. 



Illustrated with 180 cuts, and 90 maps, plans, and 
diagrams. 

500 pp. Price $3.50 

Now in press and will be issued April 1 

CHARLES SCRIBNERS' SONS. 

743 Broadway, N. T. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 947 895 1 




"A man of culture, visiting for the first time the old 
homes of art. and stoi-y, experiences about as much of 
pleasure as this world has to give."—Serihner'a Monthly. 



John W. Oliver, Printer, Yonkers, N. Y. 



